Our stubborn will

You were too demanding of others, and admiring your own fidelity to your obligations you did not tolerate the faults of others. God, however wants you to be indulgent and patient. Here it comes the  disease and makes you rely on those with whom you were so severe, so you can see something you never valued: their kindness delivered to you. He knew that your stubborn will was unable by itself to do any good, and so He came to force you to become patient and sweet.

Let us learn to decipher our sufferings: they are often a response to our prayers. The Lord requires us to accept or to do what we did not have the courage to want. The Lord removes our latest resistance and imposes us some renunciation that He unites to his sacrifice. Then there is unity between our prayer and our life, unity between our offerings and our stubborn will!

  Ereu massa exigents amb els altres, i fixant-vos en la vostra fidelitat als vostres deures no toleràveu les faltes alienes. Déu, però, us vol indulgents i pacients. Heus-aquí que arriba la malaltia, i us fa dependre d'aquells amb qui ereu tant severs, i així podeu comprovar  quelcom que mai havieu valorat : la seva entrega bondadosa cap a vosaltres. El Senyor sabia que la vostra voluntat obstinada era incapaç per ella mateixa d'obrar el bé  , i ha vingut a forçar-vos a esdevenir pacients i dolços

Aprenem a desxifrar les nostres sofrences: sovint són una resposta a les nostres pregàries. El Senyor ens obliga a acceptar o a fer allò que nosaltres no teniem el coratge de voler. El Senyor elimina les nostres últimes resistències, i ens imposa renunciaments que uneix al seu sacrifici. Aleshores es produeix la unitat entre la nostra pregària i la nostra vida, entre la nostra ofrena i la nostra voluntat obstinada.

(Georges Chevrot: Le temps de l'Eglise, p.119-120, Bonne Presse)